I have every right to moan

Sir,

I enjoy reading the letters section in your paper, but I have never felt the need to write one myself until I read the letter from Mr Hughes of Whitney.

My wife and I retired to Cyprus last September. I am 58, my wife 55; we had both worked all our lives in the London area. We like most people we were able to make the move due to the rise in property values (being what Mr Hughes would describe as working class, how else would people in our position be able to uproot ourselves to come and spend the rest of our lives in the sun?).

Am I grateful to the people of Cyprus for giving me this opportunity? No, not particularly; since I have been here I have bought a house from a Cypriot developer, I have bought furniture, household fittings, a car – all in all I have spent about £150,000. Neither my wife nor myself are allowed to be a burden on the Cypriot state, we have to pay our way. I have no problem with that, indeed my wife and I have lived by those rules all our lives.

How do we live our lives now that we are settled in Cyprus? Well, we obey the law, we try and be good neighbours to our fellow Brits and Cypriots alike. We use the local shops and services for all our daily needs.

Now having said all that, do I think I am entailed to complain or even moan when I see something I don’t like? Bloody right I do. I might not pay direct tax, but I pay and support the Cypriot economy through my spending power. Do I want things cheap? You bet I do, every bit as much as every Cypriot does. Mr Hughes seems to be under the impression that because we are working class and over here we should be touching our forelocks and be forever grateful to the Cypriot nation for allowing us the privilege of living on their island.

I was a Bus Inspector in London for over 30 years and most of the immigrants I came in contact with were very vocal with any issue they did not agree with, and believe me they were not all saints. Why is it that the main criticism for Brits so called bad behaviour always seems to come from fellow Brits?

My wife and I love it here and all being well will spend the rest of our lives here. We don’t need or want Mr Hughes’ apologies, we will continue to live side by side with our fellow Brits and our Cypriot friends. We will moan, criticise and protest whenever we feel the need, we will continue to expect cheap prices, the same as any other consumer. We will condemn the behaviour of the very small number of Brits that show disrespect to us and our Cypriot friends. What we will not do is make apologies for Brits who voice their opinions; that is their right, whether they live in Cyprus or the UK.

Please Mr Hughes, keep your apologies to yourself.

Rory McNicol, Paralimni

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.